WEBVTT
THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER SAYS
THE SEA LION IS MAKING A
TURNAROUND.
>> AFTER A BAD THREE YEARS,
MARINE MAMMAL EXPERTS ARE
REPORTING THE BIRTH RATE IS UP.
CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS ARE DOING
BETTER.
>> SLOWLY, IT'S STILL ABOUT 41%
BELOW NORMAL PUPPING RATES FOR
THE CALIFORNIA SEA LION.
>> IN 2013, THEY STARTED HAVING
PROBLEMS WITH THEIR FOOD SOURCES
THANKS TO WARM WATER CONDITIONS.
AND IN 2015, THERE WAS A MASS
STARVATION EVENT UP AND DOWN THE
COAST RESULTING IN A RECORD
BREAKING 1400 RESCUES BY THE
MARINE MAMMAL CENTER ALONE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S A GOOD DAY
AT THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER.
THESE CAGES ARE EMPTY COMPARED
TO LAST YEAR WHEN THEY WERE
HOSTING UP TO 25 ANIMALS A DAY
AT THE FACILITY.
WATER TEMPERATURES ARE STILL
ABOUT A DEGREE WARMER THAN
NORMAL IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
WHERE THE ANIMALS HAVE PUPS, BUT
THE BABIES BEING BORN ARE OF
NORMAL SIZE, WHICH IS GOOD NEWS
FOR THEIR HEALTH.
>> RIGHT NOW, THE ANIMALS THAT
WE ARE PICKING UP, IT HAS BEEN
SLOWING DOWN QUITE A BIT, WHICH
WE ARE THANKFUL FOR.
IT CERTAINLY HAS NOT BEEN AS BAD
AS IT WAS THE PAST YEAR OR SO.
>> THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER IS
CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THIS
.
THE NUMBERS DO LOOK GOOD.
DAN: IF YOU DO HAPPEN TO SEE A

Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries released new numbers showing researchers saw a nine percent increase from 2015 in number of births in the Channel Islands.

Sea lions had a tough time in 2013, 2014 and 2015, when warm water pushed their food sources further out to sea. According to NOAA, ocean temperatures around the Channel Islands and southern California reached extreme or record levels during the winter of 2015.

Bill Hunnewell /Marine Mammal Center

NOAA is reporting temperatures are still slightly above average by about one degree centigrade in southern California this year, and researchers are currently keeping an eye on a warm water blob in the Gulf of Alaska.

Pups in the Channel Islands were normal size this year, and the Marine Mammal Center said it has been taking in fewer patients in 2016.

"Right now, the animals that we are picking up, it has been slowing down quite a bit, which we are thankful for. It certainly has not been as bad as it was the past year," O’Hern said.

In 2015, the Marine Mammal Center alone took in 1,400 starving and sick sea lions.

Many died, but 364 were rehabilitated and released. Totals are not in for this year, but according to online records, under 500 patients have been taken into Marine Mammal Center facilities in 2016.